The Flower and Her Sun
by WishfulInfatuation
Summary: Sakura's wish came true. Even though some things haven't gone as expected, she will do her best to make herself, and her loved one, happy again. Flowers need their sun to grow. An alternate ending, post war, begins in chapter 699.
1. End of The War

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, nor do I get paid for this fic._**

 ** _I have been reading a lot of fanfictions about this pair, because they're truly my favorite and was thoroughly disappointed at how the ending treated Sakura, especially, with a dysfunctional family. The idea for this fic came in a dream, because apparently I've been reading too much._** ** _By the way, if you don't like NaruSaku, this IS a NaruSaku fic. There's no point at all in you reading this only to hate it._**

 _ **Thank you so much for you time in advance. Without further ado, please enjoy. Reviews are loved round here, whether they're good or bad.**_

* * *

 **~Chapter One – End of the War~**

* * *

Sasuke and Naruto lay on the ground, both unmoving and barely breathing. Dusty remains of the Valley of the End swirled around the destroyed space gracefully as the pink haired kunoichi approached them, exhausted, to be their aid. As the girl approached, tears trickled down her face both from the pain in her joints and the happiness of finally witnessing the fulfilment of her greatest wish: Naruto was still alive, she could see him breathing. As she sat between her friends, quickly getting into action with one green-chakra-covered-hand over each of her teammates, her before hasty breathing slowed. She wanted Sasuke to come back to the village with all her heart, and she knew he would, because Naruto had promised her all those years ago. She knew Naruto would fulfil his promise, even if it had no longer existed, and even if he had to give his life for it.

Giving his life for the promise, for his and her friend, was the problem. Sakura had tried to stop Naruto, but he never went back on his word – that was his ninja way. She cried, pleaded, lied, and still, Naruto would not listen. It was then that the biggest desire she had, changed. It was no longer having Sasuke back, it was having Naruto back. Having him around to annoy her, to smile at her with that huge toothy grin, to have him invite her to ramen eating dates she wouldn't go to, to be her friend, her comrade, her teammate. She couldn't see herself without his joyous presence, his constant mention of his goal to be hokage, his hard work, his growth. She needed him to come back to Konoha with her after the war was over, and because she couldn't do anything as usual, she could just hope. Dream, wish, pray that he would come out of this alive, and fortunately, as both her shaky hands now worked on the boy, she felt his heart beating fiercely, and finally felt calm.

He coughed and opened his eyes, and smiled as brightly as the stars when he looked at her. He was in bliss, completely proud and happy about the past events. The war was over, the fight was over, and both he and Sasuke were alive! Or were they? He tilted his head and found his pink haired friend still working on Sasuke. He saw tears in her eyes and instantly panicked; "Sakura-chan…" he said, his voice coarse, "is Sasuke… is he okay?"

"Oh, you're awake!" she replied excitedly, wiping the tears from her face and smiling sincerely, "how are you feeling? Does anything hurt? Tell me everything!" she placed one of her hands back on him.

"I'm okay, Sakura-chan, are you? Why are you crying?" He sat up and took her hand that was on his chest.

"It's nothing, Naruto. I was just worried about you two. Oh, and he's fine, I just helped you first. You guys did a real mess on each other." She gently removed her hand from her blonde friend. After a few more minutes of her trying to repair as much as she could with her remaining chakra, Sasuke awoke, too.

"Sakura… thank you… I'm sorry…" were his first words to her. She waved them way, saying she needed to concentrate. The chakra around her hands suddenly weakened, the green aura became smaller and smaller, until it was gone altogether. Sakura breathed in deeply, feeling sudden dizziness, and then felt and saw nothing.

* * *

She was conscious now and then. Sometimes she heard sobs, sometimes she heard screams and arguing, and sometimes all she could hear was silence. After a while, she could feel. When she heard the sobbing, she felt someone holding her hand. When she heard arguing, she felt needles prickling her skin. When she could not hear anything, she could only feel the cold, so cold, it was painful. Eventually she could understand. The sobbing was Naruto. His hand holding onto hers as if holding to dear life. The yelling was Tsunade, giving her medication she concocted herself. The cold was the night, and it was lonely, the sun was gone. Her sun was also gone.

When she woke, it was night. She hadn't noticed how dark and cold the hospital is at these hours. Looking at the clock mounted on the wall opposite hers, she saw it was 4:00 am. She was trembling, her sheets were thin as a tissue, her clothes matching, and she had no protection against the fury of the cold. Her window was also open, bringing in soft winds that to her seemed furious and cruel. She called out for a nurse, or anyone, to bring her more sheets. But the nurse never came. Instead, her friend did, through the window, with the biggest bed cover she'd ever seen in hand. He quickly threw it over her and tucked her in.

"Sakura-chan! You finally woke up!" He yelled, much too loudly for the headache she was rocking, but she didn't mind, she smiled nonetheless. He grabbed her hand as he sat next to her, the same way he did while she was still elsewhere in her mind. He started sobbing, too. "I was so scared, Sakura-chan. I really thought… well it doesn't matter, you woke up!"

"Did you really think I'd be gone that easily?!" Sakura joked, "I didn't think I used up so much chakra, I'm sorry for scaring you, Naruto." She gently squeezed his hand with a smile. "If you don't stop crying, you're going to make me cry," she added, drying his tears with her free hand.

"Sorry, Sakura-chan," he responded, a little surprised at her drying his tears. "It was a long two weeks."

"Two weeks?! That felt like an eternity for me!" She let go of his hand now, and sat up as he chuckled. She lay back down, feeling an all too similar dizziness cloud her head. She wanted to ask about Sasuke, but she knew the answers already. He was fine, not in the hospital anymore, and he didn't visit her. She didn't expect him to, but it was still painful to know that after all that has happened, he still didn't care. No matter how much love and devotion she showed towards him, how much of his awful behavior she was willing to look over, he didn't care.

"You know, Sasuke said he's planning to leave for a while soon, to see the world or something." Naruto said sadly, as if reading her mind. Sakura just nodded in response. "Do you want me to go get him, so you two can finally talk?" He asked in a cheery tone, but Sakura could feel the sadness behind it.

She shook her head. "I'm perfectly happy with you here, Naruto." She smiled, "hey, I'm really not feeling too good. I think I'll try to get some sleep."

"Okay, I'll be here watching over you the whole time, Sakura-chan." He announced proudly, giving her his usual toothy grin.

"Thank you Naruto, thank you so much."

* * *

When she woke up, late in the afternoon, Naruto was still there next to her. He was fast asleep, his head resting next to her hip on her bed. His mouth was open, and his soft snores filled the room with noise. He was holding onto her hand still, with both of his, so tenderly it made Sakura smile and blush. It made her wonder when it was she began to think of anything Naruto did to her as tender. She had no answer. After shaking him awake, sort of roughly because he wouldn't listen, Sakura called out to Tsunade. After a lot of arguing, the fifth hokage agreed to let her go home, under the promise that Naruto would help her. It seemed Naruto wasn't done making promises quite yet. It took her a ridiculously long time to change into some of her clothes, which her parents had left when it was believed she'd wake up, on her own. Her body was awfully weak, standing up alone was a difficult task, it felt as if her legs could give out at any moment. _Using up 99% of your chakra truly isn't wise,_ she kept thinking. Naruto had to almost carry her to her apartment, which he didn't complain for, but she noticed he was being oddly quiet.

"Have you ever been to my apartment before, Naruto?" she asked, trying to start a conversation. They were at her door, Sakura opening the door with shaky, weak hands.

"Not that I can remember – probably not." He replied, nervously scratching the back of his head.

"Is that why you're so quiet?" she asked as she finally managed to get the door open. She smiled as the familiar scent of her apartment hit her. _Home, finally,_ she thought.

Distracted by the enjoyment of finally being home, Sakura didn't notice Naruto look down to the floor, with a frown. He hadn't told her yet about his argument with Sasuke. About a week ago, Naruto got upset at how little Sasuke cared about Sakura's wellbeing. It ended in a bit of a heated argument, but Naruto learned that he truly didn't want anything to do with Sakura. Not the way he knew she wanted, anyway. He didn't know if it was wise to let her know, so he just kept quiet for now. He didn't respond.

"Come on in, by the way," she invited, he had stayed standing by the door, with an expression between anger and sadness. She knew there was something he didn't want to say. "Naruto, please tell me what's wrong." He looked at her then, in the eyes, and she understood. They have been through so much together, a look in the eyes was enough for them to see the pain in each other's thoughts. "It's about him, isn't it?"

Naruto nodded at that, and put his hands in his pockets, still by the door. "It's just – I thought…" He took in a deep breath, "I brought him back, mostly because I wanted you two to be together, so you could be happy. But none of it is happening, is it? You're not happy, and I – I don't think –"

"Hey, no, don't," Sakura stopped him, mid-sentence. She knew where he was going, because she'd already figured it out herself. She took him by the arm, and with the weak bit of strength she had in her, she pulled him onside and closed the door behind him. She then stood right in front of him, and spoke her mind. "I know it took me ages to figure this out, but Naruto, he didn't love me back then, and just because you brought him back doesn't mean he'll magically start loving me out of nowhere. I know, and I'm fine. It makes me sad, but I'm fine."

"But, Sakura – "

"But nothing! Besides, you're the one making me unhappy right now!" Tears had begun slowly trailing down her face. "See!?"

"But what did I do?!" He was also crying.

"You just won't stop crying! Stop! You're making me cry! It's painful to see you so sad…" She closed the distance between them by wrapping her arms around his torso, tightly. "I've been hearing you cry for the past two weeks! Stop crying, or I'm seriously going to pummel you to death once I have enough strength!"

Naruto hesitated to hug her back, too shocked to move a muscle. "Why does that make you sad?"

"I – I don't know. Baka." She let go of him and looked away from him, embarrassment showing clearly on her face. Out of nowhere, he took her hand and pulled her close to him again, returning the hug. She looked up at him and met his gaze; all the anger and sadness in his eyes was not gone. She found what she was looking for in him before, what she needed to see. Happiness was reflected n his beautiful blue eyes, a huge smile to match. She couldn't stop herself from smiling back, and wrapping her arms around him once more.

* * *

To be continued….


	2. Insomnia

**~Chapter Two – Insomnia~**

* * *

She couldn't sleep. Her recurring nightmares for the past few weeks were starting to take a toll on her. She had bags under her eyes, and, even after a full recovery from the war, she was still finding training to be difficult. It wasn't the physical drain earned from overuse of chakra anymore, it was the lack of sleep and the restlessness her nightmares had caused. If she tried, she could get a few hours of rest, but every single time she did, she would see that scene that tormented her. It played out in different ways every time. One time, she saw the boy being stabbed with a kunai over and over again, the blood that came out of his body dancing around him in the shape of droplets as the kunai moved back and forth. Another time, she witnessed as the Susano'o pierce his chest, right through his heart, lifting him up as if he was a trophy, his blood cascading to the ground with the grace of a beautiful waterfall. The images of the war wouldn't leave her mind, but they were twisted. Contoured in a way to torture her further. He always died, and his blood always covered her body. It was her guilt, she believed, that provoked said images. The war surely wasn't her fault, but similar outcomes to her nightmares could have occurred from his other encounters with Sasuke, those which were because of her and the stupid promise he made her. She was stupid, useless, and weak. And she couldn't sleep. And it tormented her every night. Unless he was with her.

If he was there near him while she slept, she slept soundly, comfortably, knowing he was right there next to her, alive and well. He was wonderful, much too good to her, and had offered to watch over her at night. It all started a little over two weeks ago. Naruto had invited her to some ramen, to which at first she said no to, but in the end decided to comply. After eating wonderfully cooked noodles, their excited and seemingly unending chatter took both of them to her apartment, where he was accompanying her to without intentions of staying. It was a cool evening, and wit Naruto's presence, she fell asleep in a moment of silence, her head resting comfortably on his shoulder. He didn't move a muscle, so as to not wake her. Instead, he admired her beauty, the way her chest rose and fell with each breath, how her lips, parted innocently, invited him in unknowingly. Her face looked so perfect to him. He wanted nothing more than to kiss this girl, on her forehead, on her lips. He wished he could wake up to see her like this every morning.

When she opened her eyes, he was still watching her. He chuckled and scratched the back of his head nervously when his blue orbs met green ones. She noticed the red on his cheeks and smiled, it was so cute.

"Oh, sorry Naruto. I didn't mean to fall asleep on you, she said, her voice heavy with sleepiness, sitting up. "I haven't slept in a while.

"Don't worry about it, Sakura-chan," he grinned, "you look really pretty while you sleep." She didn't say anything to this she just looked away. Failing to notice that she was actually just hiding her blushing face, Naruto prepared himself for the imminent, chakra charged punch to his face. It didn't come. "Um, how come you haven't slept well?"

She looked at him now, blush nearly gone. "It's nothing, just nightmares," she answered simply.

"Would you tell me?" Naruto asked timidly, trying to keep distance to hopefully dodge her burst of anger if he asked or said too much. She sighed.

"I keep dreaming about the war, and your fight with Sasuke, but it's different. You always die."

Naruto didn't say anything to that, he just looked at her in the eyes for a moment, where she could see both shock and sadness. He hugged her then, not caring if she reacted violently anymore. When he felt her arms wrap around him, he began murmuring soothing words in her ear, saying how she needn't worry, how everything is alright, and how he'll never leave her alone. Truly, he didn't understand what was going on with her. He knew she cared about him dearly, at least enough to make her lie to him just so he would stop chasing after Sasuke, but her behavior lately was both unexpected and confusing. He didn't know what to think, or what the best things to say or do were, so he just followed her lead when situations like this arose. Moments like these had happened often for the past couple of weeks she's been recovering. It always ended up with them hugging, very intimately, for what felt like hours. Once he believed they were going to kiss. Sasuke had been off topic, they'd been together the three of them, but when it was just Naruto and Sakura, he wasn't usually discussed. He would leave the village in a few days, and the whole 'bringing him back' thing started feeling like a complete fiasco.

"Sorry that I always end up clinging to you like an annoying child." She said softly, interrupting his thoughts. She pulled away from him, he already missed her warmth. She kept one of her hands on his, though.

"Sakura, you know I don't mind – at all," he said with a cheeky smile. "I do mind, though, about you not being able to sleep. You start working at the hospital again tomorrow, you can't be all tired!"

She giggled cutely at that, "Well, I guess it was good you were here, I slept like a baby! I'll definitely be fine tomorrow, now."

"That's it!" He yelled all of a sudden. "You sleep just fine with me here, so I'll just be here with you!"

"Naruto," she giggled, "you can't be not sleeping either."

"Then… I'll just sleep with you!" He stated innocently. Out of nowhere, he felt himself getting thrown off the sofa. "Near you, I mean! You know what I mean!"

That's how their routine started, Sakura would go to work, Naruto would do whatever he needed to do, and then they'd meet up, have some dinner together, and end up either at his or her place, to sleep. Naruto had moved his couch close to his bed and slept on it while she slept on his bed. At her place, Naruto first slept in the couch too, but after noticing how uncomfortable and how much of a sacrifice that was, she allowed him to sleep on her bed with him, since it's a big one. They'd both try their best not to cross the invisible line that divided the bed throughout the night.

Today, it was a normal day at the hospital for her. Kakai-sensei was one of her patients today, he had taken on a mission a couple days ago and had come back with a few nips and cuts from shuriken and kunai. She was healing his last few injuries when she heard a familiar voice from the direction of the door of the room.

"Morning. Can I have a minute, Sakura?" he asked, as serious as ever.

"Of course, just let me finish," she replied, coolly.

"How have you been, Sasuke?" Kakashi asked him, his only visible eye crinkled, signaling a smile.

"Better, I don't feel too uncomfortable." He didn't like giving explanations. "I'll be waiting by the entrance downstairs," he added and left.

"It feels kind of strange, having him around, doesn't it?" Kakashi asked, studying his former student's reaction. When she nodded wordlessly, he asked; "is something wrong between you? I expected to see you as happy as a pup when he came back."

"Not really, we just have a hard time reconnecting, I guess. It takes time." She smiled at her sensei, hoping to relieve some of his worry. "Well, that's that! All done. Try not to get stabbed anymore, will you?"

After Kakashi left, saying his thanks, she took off her coat and headed outside. The Uchiha boy she still had mixed feelings about waited for her by the door. He looked glorious, his hair a perfect array around his perfect face, his hands in his pockets, his posture easy as he leaned against the wall near the door. How he could look so good just standing there, would always be a mystery to her. When he saw her, he went ahead and opened the door for her. She thought of it as strange, but said nothing about it.

"I have a few things to say. I would like to talk over lunch. Join me?" He was trying to be as polite as he could, but even though he asked, he wouldn't accept no for an answer, they were having this talk today. Fortunately, and just as he expected, the pink haired kunoichi didn't hesitate to say yes. Her cheeks reddened and her eyes brightened up, just like he thought would happen.

She hadn't expected this, she couldn't help but smile and stupidly follow him to wherever it was they were going. She didn't even know where they were. Her mind was elsewhere. What did he want? What would he say? Why did he take her out to lunch? Why did she care this much? She realized the effect such a simple action of his had on her. Having lunch together, something she could do daily with Naruto and never freak out about it.

"What do you want to eat?" he asked, pulling her away from her train of thought.

"Just get two of whatever you're getting," she mumbled out nervously.

"I wanted to apologize," he began, looking at her in the eye, no expression evident in his opal gaze. "We haven't been alone since then, Naruto always keeps you all to himself."

"Oh, I see. Sorry, I've been busy with work and recovering. Naruto's company is great help," she explained with a smile playing with the ice on the glass in front of her she hadn't realized was there. "He helps me so much. He's so sweet," she rambled on.

Sasuke didn't fail to notice the sparkle in her eyes as she spoke of their blonde friend. "You two are getting along way better than you used to," he observed, a serious tone on his voice. Sakura took a gulp of water.

"We'll, we've been through a lot together since you left, it's only natural that we'd grow closer." She continued playing with the ice.

"I know."

The waitress brought their food, some kind of dumpling and some kind of soup. It looked and tasted delicious. They ate in silence, both feeling awkward, as if they were sitting on a table with a stranger.

"I'm sorry for back then." Sasuke pleaded, barely audibly. He kept talking while staring at his empty plates. "I wasn't myself. I hope you understand." He was a man of few words, but with those short sentences he conveyed a lot to her. She knew he was a different person now and it meant a lot to her to hear it directly from him.

"It was so hard to get over that, but I understood, always." She informed him reassuringly. "But hey, I wanted to kill you too, at one point, so I guess we're even."

"Why was that?" he'd wanted to know the exact reason for this for a long time. He hadn't expected Sakura to ever even think about the idea, what with her feelings for him and all.

"Because of him, Naruto." She paused for a moment. "It was heartbreaking. Watching him work so hard and fail. Working his ass off, endangering himself, even begging people to get you pardoned. All because of a stupid promise he made me. I wanted to put an end to it before he got himself killed for running after someone who…" she stopped abruptly, noticing she was losing her temper, anger suddenly flooding her senses. "I didn't want him to end up being the dead one. Not him. He's too good." She breathed in deeply and set her now broken chopsticks on her plate. Sasuke stayed silent for a minute, thinking about her words.

"Someone who what? Tell me, I want to hear it." Sakura noticed some emotion in his eyes for the first time since they were little.

"Someone who didn't care. Someone who didn't deserve to be cared for so much," she finished. A few tears danced in her eyes, but never fell.

"Thank you. Do you feel better?" Sasuke asked after a coupe minutes. His voice was different, he sounded concerned, or hurt, she couldn't really tell.

"Lots better, actually. Thank you for letting me get that out of my system."

"Should we get going then?"

"Yes, please."

On their way to the hospital, Sasuke had something else to ask; "There's one more thing, you made me curious. What was that promise?"

Sakura debated for a minute if she should say or not. It seemed like a lot of people knew already anyway, so she told him. "When you left, I begged Naruto to bring you back to me, while crying my eyes out." She felt very embarrassed about this moment of her life, for it was the start of a lot of hardships for Naruto.

"Hn. I'm here now, like you wanted. What did you want me so badly for?"

She wanted the earth to swallow her at that point. What was with these questions? Thankfully, for her, like a superhero, Naruto appeared to save the day.

"Sakura-chan! Sasuke!" She heard the familiar, always cheerful voice yell their way. She let out the air she didn't know she was holding in relief.

"Yo." Greeted Sasuke.

"Naruto-kun!" Sakura quickly moved to his side and instinctively linked her arm with his. Sasuke watched how they interacted with great interest. As soon as Naruto caught up to them, Sakura went straight to his side. His immediate response was a big smile, directed at her, and a slight redness to his face. Sakura started conversation with Naruto instantly, their chat seeming almost rhythmic, practiced, familiar. They asked each other about how they were, how their day was, and what they had done, before even directing a word towards him. It was fascinating, he wanted something like that for himself, he thought as we watched. Maybe with time she'd be that way with him, too.

"So, what were you guys up to?" Naruto finally questioned.

"We had lunch together. I kind of yelled at Sasuke."

"You kind of yell at everyone, Sakura-chan."

"I'm going to knock your brains out if you say that again."

"We were walking back to the hospital, Sakura has work." Sasuke interrupted, irritated.

"True, I better hurry back."

"I'll accompany you two!" Naruto and Sakura began to walk, leaving him behind with an incredibly annoyed expression on his face. She was his, he noted.

"So guess who I had lunch with? Hinata! She actually invited me!"

"Wait what? For real?!"

Their voices slowly became inaudible as they walked away from him. He couldn't stop himself from comparing their walking away from him to him walking away from them all those years ago. His friends had changed, too.

* * *

 _ **Thank you so much for reading! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. In the next one, the story starts to pick up the pace (NaruSaku wise).**_


	3. Encounter

**_~ Chapter Three – Encounter ~_**

* * *

It annoyed him. Sure, he had ignored this girl's affections whenever she gave them in the past. He complained over and over about how annoying she was every time she squeaked his name in delight. He had abandoned her when he left the village in search for vengeance. He had tried to kill her, too. But he didn't expect her seemingly undying devotion to die like that. He abandoned Naruto and tried to kill him as well, and he didn't push him aside like she did. It didn't seem like she did it on purpose. She spoke to him normally, for the most part, and she liked spending time with him, he could tell. Not alone, though. In instances when they were left alone, she would act as if she was nervous. He thought she might be afraid of him. Those moments were rare though, Naruto was always there with her. It was almost as if he was his bodyguard, as if for some reason he had to protect her from him. They moved in unison, too. If he moved, she moved. She was always by his side. It annoyed him that thoughts of fear could be what made her so distant from him, he wasn't going to harm her. She said she understood when they spoke before. He felt utterly confused.

"Can we go get some ramen? I'm hungry, and with the diet you've got me on lately, ramen is all I can think about," she suggested cheerfully. She looked beautiful today, he thought, extraordinarily casual in an oversized shirt and shorts. She looked her best this way, to him.

"I'm hungry too," chuckled Naruto. "You two wait here, I'll bring three big bowls! You want some too right, Sasuke?"

"Sure," he shrugged. He looked at his female friend, she looked very uncomfortable as Naruto took his leave. "Sakura, would you tell me why you get so weird when we're alone?" He asked directly, no point in delaying his curiosity further.

"I – I just don't know what to say," she said. The way she played with a little piece of paper she found on the floor showed him she felt very awkward. There was junk everywhere on this apartment, Naruto sure was messy, he observed.

"Are you scared of me?" He noticed she blushed at this question. She took a minute to think, he assumed, before answering.

"No. It's just difficult to interact with you, I guess. Like I don't know you. I get like this around new people, too. It's like you're one of them. It's easy when Naruto's here to do the talking, but otherwise I don't even know where to start." She folded and unfolded the piece of paper over and over in different ways.

"Hn." It was uncomfortable. He recalled their time as Team 7, this girl was always all over him, expressing her love and admiration, sharing any silly and boring thing that came to her mind with him. That same girl who wouldn't shut up with him now didn't know what to say. Normally he liked silence, but silence from her wasn't something he was used to. "Well," he broke the silence, "I don't want to be in this uncomfortable silence for 20 minutes." He figured, because of what she said, that maybe they should start to know each other again. "What's your favorite color?" he sighed.

Sakura stared at him with a bewildered expression. She then burst out laughing, hard, for a long time. She was hugging her stomach and drying tears form the corners of her eyes when she calmed down. "Really?!"

"So annoying."

She laughed more. "Red," she answered finally, still going at it.

"Tsk."

* * *

When Naruto returned with the ramen, he was pleasantly surprised to find Sasuke and Sakura talking a little and laughing. That was a first, he thought, maybe now they could really become friends again. He smiled his huge toothy grin, he'd missed this sight. After filling their bellies with delicious food, and chatting way into the hours of the night, Sakura fad fallen asleep and the two boys were discussing a more serious topic.

"I think I'll be back within a month or two. I won't go too far the first time," Sasuke was telling his good friend.

"First time?"

"Yeah, I'll probably be going back and forth my whole life, really. I enjoy seeing the world, and now that I found clarity, I'll probably enjoy it more."

"You better come back, baka, and often," he warned his friend jokingly, "or I'll drag your ass back in here again myself!"

Sasuke smirked at that. "I'll be heading out in a week."

"Oh, that's fast," Naruto said cheerlessly, "Did you tell her? She's going to be upset."

"She knows. You'll be here with her, she won't be," Sasuke pointed out nonchalantly. Naruto didn't get it.

"I'm sleepy. I think it's time I get some sleep. I'll be helping Kakai-sensei tomorrow with Hokage stuff. He's finally official!" He cheered, and then yawned.

"Interesting." Sasuke yawned too, and stoop up to leave. "I guess I'll walk her home," he walked towards the sofa she was sleeping on to wake her.

"No, let her sleep. She hates being woken up. She almost knocked me out once," he warned his friend. "She's slept in that couch quite a bit already anyway, she falls asleep often after work." Truly, he just knew that Sakura wouldn't want to go home either way, she always slept wherever he was.

Sasuke looked at him weirdly, but didn't say anything.

"Okay then. See you later, Dobe," he yawned again, exiting the apartment.

"Thanks for being here today!" Naruto smiled as he closed the door behind the boy. He was so happy to have spent that time with his two best friends, and to see them finally look like friends again.

He looked at Sakura on the sofa. He considered moving her to the bed, but his previous experience with that told him not to. Instead, he covered her with her favorite blanket, and went to bed.

* * *

The heat woke her up. Why on earth was it so hot?! She opened her eyes as she threw the blanket off of herself. Looking around the room, she saw the culprit to the heat. Naruto had forgotten to open the windows, the idiot. She hastily got up and made her way to the windows next to Naruto's bed to open them. While she did so, she noticed Naruto moving a lot, and he was murmuring something over and over. She leaned in closer to listen, but she couldn't understand. He was having a nightmare, she thought. He helped her this whole time with her nightmares, she hadn't once thought he might be having some too. She shook him awake, suddenly desperate to help him escape the possible torture. He woke with a start.

"Sakura…"

"Hey, it's okay, I'm here," she soothed him while caressing his face, "I'm here for you."

He grabbed her arm and pulled her to him in a hug, making her fall on his body, and held her tight. She didn't know what the nightmare was about, but she didn't care, she just wanted to help him forget. She hugged him back tightly, resting her head on his chest, listening to his heart, beating hard, gradually slow down. His hold on her softened a little, and she knew he felt better.

"You okay?" she asked, raising her head up to look at his face. She felt blood rush to her face as she realized how close to his face hers was.

He nodded, "yeah…"

She was going to ask, but she could tell he wouldn't want to talk about it. She noticed their positioning, and shifted to the side, feeling a little embarrassed laying between his legs.

"Sakura-chan?" he called, looking down at her. He had been unconsciously brushing his hand through her hair. He stopped that.

"Yeah?" She lifted her head from his chest again, their faces now somehow closer. She didn't look away this time, she was enthralled in the way his eyes looked at her in that moment.

"Thank you," he smiled sweetly. Half of her was still laying on his body, her heart was racing almost as fast as Naruto's was after the nightmare. She felt nervous too, but she found her body wanting something she never thought she would. He placed a hand tenderly on her face. She couldn't take it anymore. His stare, his smell, their position, the tone of his voice…

"Kiss me," she pleaded unexpectedly.

Naruto was just as shocked as she herself was. But she wanted it, so badly right now.

"What?"

"Fuck. Just kiss me."

Their lips met, soft and sweetly at first. Once, twice. They parted and looked at each other once more. They could both tell they wanted more. They kissed again, this time with need, with hunger. Naruto's tongue tasted her bottom lip and she followed his lead, parting her lips to allow him access into her mouth. Their tongues danced together, clumsily, messy, making Sakura feel shivers that ran all the way down her spine, causing her to moan softly. The sound came unexpectedly to Naruto, it was so nice, he wanted to hear it more. He stopped kissing her for just a moment to adjust their positioning, he made her go back where she lay at first, between his legs. It was more comfortable for both. Sakura was enveloped in his warmth, his taste, his scent. She loved the feeling of his arms holding her tightly more now than ever before. His hands tugging at her hair gently gave her unimaginable shivers and tingles, she was completely lost in him. She held onto the hair on the nape of his neck as the shivers made her moan a second time. She was everywhere in his mind, he couldn't believe this was real. He had found himself in a dream, the best dream he'd ever had. It felt so real. Her lips felt so good against his, her tongue tasted so sweet. Her slight curves felt so familiar yet so new, he tried to take in as much of this dream he was in as he could, memorizing her contours, on her face, her sides, her back, her hair. Everything he could touch without disrespecting. He wanted all of her. He never wanted to wake up. Fortunately for him, there was nothing to wake up to, this was very much real.

When they finally paused, they smiled at each other. Neither of them knew what had come over them, or if this would be something that would lead them in a new path, but they didn't care. They savored the moment they had while they could, before any negative thoughts could distract their minds from each other. After a while of this, having noting to say, they drifted to sleep in each other's arms.

* * *

 _ **Thank you for reading! Next update coming up very soon...**_


	4. Second Step

**_~Chapter 4 – Second Step~_**

* * *

"Sakura-chan," he shook the sleeping girl awake.

"Naruto-kun…" she yawned, "good morning," she added happily while stretching. It was a delightful morning for her, the day looked bright, she felt incredible and Naruto – Naruto was upset? He was sitting on the edge of the bed, his back to her. His head hung and his shoulders slouched, she could tell something was wrong. "What's wrong?"

"It's time for work."

"That's not what this is about at all is it?"

"That shouldn't have happened…" he confessed after a sigh, his voice shaky.

"What? But why?!" She was thoroughly shocked, a million things running through her mind. Did she do something wrong? Did he love someone else? Hinata?

"You love Sasuke."

"Really?" She crawled to him and wrapped her arms around his torso, resting her chin on his shoulders and planting a kiss on the back of his neck. "If I did, I sure as hell wouldn't have kissed you last night."

"Honestly?"

"Honestly."

He stood up suddenly, almost causing her to fall on her face, and knelt on the floor before her. "You kissed me, what does that mean? How do you feel about me?"

She thought long and hard about her answer. All the time he patiently waited, looking her in the eye with the most serious expression she'd ever seen on him. "Being with you makes me feel like I belong here, next to you, always." She blushed a little at how cheesy that was, but it was true, "Whenever we're together I feel safe, I feel loved. I witnessed you grow into someone I truly admire and want to be with for the rest of my life. Being your friend alone makes me so proud. You don't even know how happy I feel every time I see you smile." She sighed, "I could go on and on, but really, just know this: I want to be with you. I don't dare use the big word yet because there _are_ still feelings I need to sort out, but believe me, here," she grabbed both of is hands, "is where I want to be."

"I really am in a dream, aren't I?"

Sakura giggled, "Silly." She cupped his face with her hands and smiled, "kiss your girlfriend already."

She could see the shock in his wide open eyes for just a second, and then he obeyed her, kissing her softly and pushing her to the bed ever so gently. He lay between her legs, her hands on his hair as he kissed her lips, jaw, and neck. Tender bites to these areas brought out soft moans from her, and gave her tingles that caused her to pull on his hair and dig her nails into his back. She wasn't going to just lay there and enjoy the torture, though. She took advantage of her superb strength to push him off of her and straddle him, holding both of his hands with one of hers above his head. She returned the same pleasures to him, kissing, biting and licking the same areas he did. She snickered as he groaned and moaned under her, now she understood why he liked doing that to her so much. She let go of his hands to take his shirt off, she wanted to feel more of him, all of him, in fact. He groaned even louder when she began kissing his chiseled stomach.

"Kami, Sakura… You're driving me crazy," he managed to mumble out. He pulled her to his mouth again and pulled her shirt off between kisses. They flipped around again, Naruto regaining his position on top, between her legs, pressing his hardness against her warmth. This earned him the loudest moan yet... He began to kiss at her more sensitive areas, on her collarbone, the top of her small breasts, as well as the underneath, and her toned flat stomach. Going back up, he paused at her breasts, meeting her eyes for confirmation, before removing the last piece covering her mounds. He took one of them in his mouth gently licking her now erect nipple, as well as all around, not really knowing what he was doing, but wanting to taste all of her. He took the noises she was making, along with her squirming under him as a good sign to continue doing the same to the other one. He couldn't take his mouth or hands off her.

"Naruto…" she called for his attention breathlessly. He stopped abruptly, realization hitting him too, "Work," they said together.

"Can I shower here? I have what I need, and I really don't want to go to my apartment right now," she asked, felling a little annoyed but happy altogether. She'd never experienced anything like that before. Every kiss, every touch from Naruto felt so good. She hadn't had nearly enough.

"Of course, but we're running really late," Naruto informed her, a devilish smirk on his face. "Shower together?"

Sakura blushed very deeply, making Naruto chuckle. "I'm just ki-"

"Okay." Sakura took it as a challenge, He didn't think she would? Fine, she would show him. She held eye contact the entire time. She began by taking off her shirt, again, and her bra. He'd already seen that. Then, she proceeded to take off her shorts, very slowly, watching as his face become redder and redder, and the bulge in his pants grow. She smiled and motioned her with her finger to come to her. "Take these off yourself." Naruto was frozen in place. "Come on now."

He walked to her and hooked his thumbs on the hem of her panties. "Really?"

"Yes, but you first."

He quickly disposed of his shirt and pants, leaving only his boxers. His erection was clearly visible now, those boxers didn't hide anything. Sakura stared, making Naruto flush with embarrassment, but he didn't cover himself. He resumed his previous action, and this time, removed her underwear. Ignoring the intense embarrassment she felt, she let him look. He didn't stare too long to avoid making her uncomfortable, but couldn't stop himself from placing a quick peck between her legs.

"Naruto!" She squeaked, batting him away a little too hard, making him fall to the floor. "Get over here!" She demanded angrily. "My turn!" Naruto quickly stood up straight and unmoving in front of her. She knelt in front of him, her face right in front of his hard on.

"Sakura…"

"Shush!" In one swift motion, she puller his boxers down, his length bouncing up after being pulled down. Her eyes were wide open as she looked at it, he noticed. She'd seen plenty in the hospital and such occasions, but never like this. She wanted to touch it. She grabbed it with one hand, looking up at him to see if it was okay. He didn't protest, so she stroked it. It felt unexpectedly soft. How could something so hard feel so soft? She felt like kissing it. She did, quickly, on the tip. A hand of his that rested on her shoulder tightened. Liking this reaction, she gave the very tip a quick lick. The resulting moan made her quiver. She loved making him feel this way. As much as she wanted to keep exploring his body, Tsunade would murder her if she got late to work. Sighing, she stood up, and guided her too-shocked-to-move boyfriend to the bathroom.

* * *

A week later, the old Team 7 sat at Ichiraku Ramen. Naruto, already on his second bowl, was excitedly telling his teammates how he had officially become the new Hokage's assistant. He didn't really know what his actual job was, but he had to be there whenever something important was going on. He had a lingering suspicion that the real purpose of his "assistant" position was actually to train him for when he became Hokage. Because of this, he paid close attention to everything and even wrote important stuff on a notebook. He wanted to be the best Hokage. Kakashi, somehow eating all the ramen without taking his mask off once, quietly listened to his previous students conversations. It felt so strange, how normally the three interacted now after all that happened between them. It made him happy and hopeful that relationships like this could exist, built upon trust, love, and forgiveness.

"So, you two are a thing now?" Sasuke interrupted Naruto's rant about his new job. Kakashi dropped something.

Naruto and Sakura looked at each other for a second, "How'd you know?" Whispered Naruto, not wanting people to hear yet. They were keeping the relationship quiet for now, not sure how it would be received by some people, one of those people being Sasuke himself.

"It's so annoyingly obvious," Sasuke explained simply. "I'm glad I'm leaving today. Hopefully when I come back, the gross part is over." He smiled at them. "I'm glad for you two, too."

"Thank you!" Naruto and Sakura said together, and giggled.

"So annoying."

"You two?!" Kakashi asked, pointing a finger at them, his one visible eye showing shock. His previous students laughed.

"Take off your mask and we'll tell you!" Said Sakura mischievously. In an instant, where their sensei had been, was now a log. The three of them laughed, and continued to finish their food.

Times like these had only been dreams before the war. The four of them back together, enjoying a meal, training, laughing. She didn't believe it could ever happen again. Sakura's heart was filled with joy this day. Even though her dear friend would be gone for a while, there were no words to describe the bliss she was in. She might as well have become the happiest woman in the world in just a day. And it was all thanks to him, her boyfriend, who'd sacrificed everything for her, for the village, and finally for the world. It was thanks to him that few people died. Because of him, the world felt at peace. Thanks to him, they were able to sit here calmly enjoying a meal, all together, this day. She felt so unbelievably lucky, to be able to be by his side from now until forever, because he wanted her to be there as well. The life ahead of them was full of promise, and hand in hand with him, she knew both of their dreams would come true.

* * *

 _ **To be continued?...**_


	5. Memories

A/N: Thank you all so much for your follows, favorites and reviews, I hadn't thanked you before, but please know I appreciate each and every one of you. We've reached the end now! Thanks, really. Also, sorry for the huge delay; finals, enough said. Warning: lots of smut in this one. I'm in that kind of mood, I guess. Enjoy!

* * *

 ** _~ Epilogue: Memories ~_**

* * *

It was a beautiful spring day; the wind whistled softly as leaves fluttered through it, birds chirped and twittered playfully as they collected little branches for their nests, and the water from the nearby river whooshed as the sun reflected on it, sending little crystals of light throughout the forest. The small dumpling shop so fortuitously located at such an enchanting location, was unusually full with clients today, the unexpected visit causing quite a commotion among the villagers from the tree villages the shop was between. It seemed everyone came to see them, and thankfully for the shop owner, they all ordered dumplings just to sit near them. They didn't bother them though, they just observed and speculated among themselves. The couple didn't seem no notice however, they were in deep conversation. They had barely touched their dumplings even, clearly more interested in what each other had to say.

"Oh, I totally remember now!" The woman giggled happily as her boyfriend teased her. "We were so weird, we weren't even dating for a minute and we were already on second base!"

"Hey, it was you, I remember like it was yesterday! You pulled down my pants and went down there on your own!" The man chuckled, enjoying how his girlfriend blushed at this memory.

"Naruto, I'm pretty sure that's not how it went, you did that to me, and that provoked me, you're the pervert!" Sakura teased, resting her elbows in the small round table so as to get closer to her boyfriend, looking at him through her lashes mischievously.

"You are definitely the perv here! Remember the shower?" He teased more and grinned as he noticed her blush deepen. "That was all you, my dearest!"

"Well, that's not fair! You said you loved me, it was so cute. I just wanted to touch you," she admitted, a little embarrassed.

"I can't believe it's been two years and you still blush so much about this!" he laughed, throwing a dumpling in the air and catching it with his mouth. "This is delicious, Sakura-chan, you should eat!"

Picking up one of the dumplings from the massive mountain of them her boyfriend had ordered, she remembered a moment she had forgotten. The delicious taste of the pork dumpling reminded her of the time she had said 'I love you' to Naruto for the first time.

"Hey, do you remember when I said my first 'I love you' to you?" she asked him curiously as she ate some more.

"Like it was just a minute ago, love." Naruto smiled his big smile as he spoke, "we were eating dumplings! At the village, not here, and I was holding your hands and telling you I loved you, and then you said it, and you blushed, and it was adorable!"

Sakura giggled at her boyfriend's enthusiasm, "silly, I love you."

"I'll never get tired of hearing that." He blushed cutely. "I told you I loved you for the first time way before that, didn't I?"

"Yeah, in the shower, the same day we became a couple," she reminded him with a smile and a blush.

"Oh yeah, the shower…" Naruto closed his eyes in deep thought. Sakura knew that expression so very well, it meant he didn't remember.

"Naruto, you spoke about it just a couple minutes ago…"

"Yeah I remember that, what I'm trying to remember is how exactly, um, you know, our first time went."

Sakura giggled, she remembered well, "A disaster! Well, kind of…"

* * *

 _~Flashback~_

It had been a long day and night at the hospital. Sakura had been bombarded with surgery after surgery since the morning, and after a 16-hour long shift, she was ready to hit the pillows and wake up next week. However, when she got home, or to her boyfriend's apartment where she had been staying for a while, she had found him with the energy of a toddler. Immediately, he received her with a hug and story after story of the stuff that was going on at the hokage mansion, she tried her best to follow, but her sleepiness didn't allow her to. She walked straight to the bedroom as he spoke, and fell face first into the mattress.

"Sakura-chan?"

"Mmmm?"

"You're really tired, aren't you?"

"Mhm.."

"Do you want a massage?"

That got her moderately alert, "oh, yes please!" She quickly stood up and, without thinking about it, got rid of all her clothes. She threw herself face first into the bed again.

Naruto was stuck in place as he admired her body while she took off her clothes. He'd already seen her naked a lot of times, but he never got over how beautiful she was. He loved her so much, and wanted to show her that in a way his body constantly asked him to. They had been together for a couple of months now, and they had tried many things intimately, but they never went the whole way. He looked at her from head to toe, his body responding to his desire. He loved her perky breasts, small but delicious and pink. Her small ass, nice and round. Her long lean legs, her toned stomach, her back, her everything. He wanted nothing more than to touch, kiss and lick every part of this girl. He snapped out of his trance when she slumped into bed.

Getting her favorite lotion from his now cramped-with-her-stuff dresser, and squirted a fair amount straight on her back. The coldness of the lotion made her shiver and moan softly. Not sure if it was a good or bad reaction, Naruto didn't pour any more directly onto her, but on his hands this time. He sat on her bottom and got to work. Starting from her neck, he worked his hands into her knots, undoing them one by one. Slowly, he worked his way down to her shoulders, her back, the further down he moved, the louder her reaction. He loved the feel of her muscles relaxing and contracting under his touch, and her moans echoing in the room as he helped her feel better. He was losing focus though, so he decided to concentrate and finish the job before taking it anywhere else.

"Better, Sakura-chan?" he asked as he got off her and stood to return the lotion bottle to the dresser. He felt her pull on his shirt, and as he turned around, she pulled him to her in a embrace as she kissed him passionately, full of desire, her tongue exploring his mouth and soft groans escaping her throat.

"Naruto," she murmured as they parted for air, "touch me."

He didn't hesitate to oblige, his hands immediately began exploring her body, from her face, to her breasts, to the wet mound between her legs, each touch causing her to gasp and bite her lip. His middle finger found her entrance and began pleasuring her. He pushed her back to the bed and lying next to her, continued the ministrations. She began pulling on his shirt, and he understood. He paused and took off his clothes, throwing them to the floor without a care. His girlfriend pulled him in for another kiss, and slowly pulled him to be on top of her, between her legs. She gasped again as she felt his member press against her core. She'd never had it that close to being inside her. Naruto lifted his hips to separate them a little, thinking she might not like it yet, but she wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him back to where he belonged. Feeling her wetness again made him groan. They kissed some more, and he unconsciously humped her softly, the head of his cock touching her sensitive bud over and over, making her moan louder every time. He could tell she was getting close, and even though he was as well, he didn't stop pushing his member against her clit until she came, loudly, with his name on her lips.

With a couple more humps he would have joined her in her ecstasy, except she stopped him by pushing him, softly, off of her. Quickly, she straddled him and this time, she rubbed her mound against his cock. The sounds she made come out of his mouth drove her crazy, she moved faster, and then, cried out in pain and stopped abruptly. Naruto could immediately tell something was wrong, but he was to worried to notice.

"Babe? Sakura-chan? What happened?" he asked with worry as he sat up and cupped her face. She looked him in the eye.

"Um… I'm okay, I just… Naruto, you're inside me," she said shakily, she was evidently in a lot of pain.

Naruto felt it then, and it felt absolutely incredible, he accidentally moved a little deeper inside her as he shifted his weight to his arms, and groaned. He then noticed the tears glistening on her cheeks. "Sakura stand up, slowly," he tried his best to regain his composure, as she very so slowly let go of his cock which had been buried deep inside her. It felt so good he almost came right there. Then he noticed the blood, a lot of blood, and that thought quickly dissipated.

 _~End of Flashback~_

* * *

"I don't know what scared me the most at that moment, you crying during sex or seeing my dick covered in blood!" Naruto joked as he opened the door to their new apartment.

"We both know what you were worried about was me, you wouldn't stop kissing me and saying you were sorry! It was so cute", his girlfriend said as she made her way to the bathroom, dragging him along. "So, do you want me to act all shy and stuff too?" she teased.

Naruto chuckled, "No, I just wanna be reminded of the best bits of that shower two years ago! I want to be _shown_!"

At the bathroom, Sakura began to take his clothes off. "Well, we were already naked here, so help me!"

Naruto solved the issue by tearing her clothes off in a second.

"Hey!"

"Next!"

"Okay, well, we got in the shower, I got the soap and started cleaning you back like this," she informed, soaping up her hands and cleaning her boyfriend's very toned back. "Then, you did me!" she added, handing him the soap. He obediently cleansed her back lovingly, planting small kisses on the top of her head now and then.

"Then you said you loved me, for the first time!" He chuckled and, kissing her shoulder, whispered "I love you" in her ear. She shivered. "After this, you got closer," she instructed and he followed, poking her bottom with his member, "and I felt that and turned around," she turned around and looked at his cock, "smiled at you," she smiled, "and put you in my mouth." She kneeled before him, and with a mischievous little smile, she licked the tip of his penis, ever so slowly, and then moved down, licking his shaft, his balls.

"P-pretty sure it wasn't like that!"

"This is an experienced version, my love," she informed him, taking him into her mouth this time. She took him in deeply, and used her hand to cover the space she couldn't. she bobbed over and over, stopping to lick now and then, massaging his balls as she went. When she felt the too familiar throb of his dick, she pumped him with her hand only, her open mouth waiting for his seed. But it didn't come. Instead, Naruto stopped the hand that has pumping him, and pulled her up to stand before him. Roughly, he turned her around and pushed her against the back wall of the shower, were the water fell on both of their bodies. Sakura moaned, knowing what was coming next. One of his hands held her against the wall, while the other explored her back, and then loudly slapped her ass. She moaned aloud at that. Wasting no more time, he positioned himself behind her and plunged inside her dripping wet pussy. He moved quickly, hard, just like she loved, not taking too long for her to come strongly around his cock, the waves of her pleasure forcing his release inside of her. She turned around and hugged him to her as they came down from their high.

"That didn't happen back then," she joked softly into his ear.

"Experienced version?" he chuckled. "Happy two-year anniversary, Sakura-chan." He said happily as he held her close under the water.

"Happy two-year anniversary, Naruto."

* * *

 _Hope you enjoyed this one! I've decided I really enjoy this story as it is, short and sweet, so I won't be adding more here. Maybe I could write a sequel... we'll see :) Thanks to all of you for sticking around._


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